By Dom Santina, Contributing Writer / Photography by Ashley Lizzie Photography
Inanna Hauger grew up in a snowmobile racing family. Her dad was originally a snowmobile racer. After a break from racing, her older sister Cora Hauger took over as the head rider for Hauger Motorsports. Cora eventually turned the reigns over to Inanna, who took it and ran with it.
Hauger, a native of Boyne City, rose through the national ranks to eventually make her way to the pro-amateur women’s class. As many riders have done in their careers, she continued to make a name for herself while racing for her family team, with her father, Joe Hauger, being her mechanic. Hauger began her Pro-Am Women career during the 2016 – 2017 season, running just a limited schedule. Since then, she has signed a contract with a pro team in Hemmer Racing for the 2023-2024 season.
Few know about Hauger’s brutal 2023-2024 season. She battled through multiple hard wrecks that took a toll on her body and hurt her riding most of the season. While most riders would call it quits and sit out the year, Hauger showed her dedication and desire to win a championship by trying to power through. Many people might think you are crazy to race a snowmobile and have to be tough to take the hits. Hauger’s toughness can never be questioned after pushing through those injuries.
The year she started strong for her and their relationship with Hemmer Motorsports. She started the year off by picking up the win in the final in Ironwood, Michigan. Hauger had proven to be a title combatant over the last couple of seasons; she was one of the favorites alongside series competitor and reigning champion Malene Cottew.
The 2023- 2024 season was possibly Hauger’s most consistent season as a contender as well. She had proven she could finish on the podium consistently, but last season showed she was a constant contender for a win. Hauger finished with eight second-place finishes and two more third-place finishes for 11 podiums in 16 rounds. She was also in contention to end the season as it started, with an overall win and a spot on top of the box until Cottew contacted her in the corner and took both of them out of the race.
Hauger was pushing herself to earn that elusive championship, and as mentioned, that resulted in some hard crashes. Her grit allowed her to cling to the highest points finish of her career with a second-place finish, 100 points behind the three-time champion in Cottew.
2024 Season Preview
Hauger will be hungry even heading into the 2024-2025 snocross season. Once again, she has resigned with Hemmer Motorsports aboard Polaris. Hauger has been hungry and the connection with Hemmer Motorsports last year was the perfect combination. Her father will again be her mechanic, her comfort zone for the last few years.
As her mechanic, Joe Hauger earned Inanna the nickname Holeshot Hauger from the great start she got. He has her Polaris ripping off the starting line. Once out front, Inanna just had to be able to hold the snowmobile, while Cottew puts emissive pressure on behind with her riding capabilities.
Hauger is very eager to get the season going,
“ I am so excited to get the opportunity to race this season with Hemmer Motorsports once again. They are a great team and family; we all work well together. The team puts in endless amounts of work. We made huge gains last season, and I am looking forward to building upon that in this upcoming season,” said Hauger.
Hauger is one of the top title contenders heading into the upcoming season. She will have some tough and very familiar competition. Cottew, Taven Woodie and Tasha Lange will be her biggest and heaviest title combatants. Young and upcoming riders can also pose a challenge to the favorites. The division is not getting easier, but Hauger feels more comfortable every year. That, along with year two in the Hemmer Motorsports trailer, where they have won multiple championships at the amateur level. The expectations are going to be high for Hauger this year and as long as she stays healthy, she will be capable of holding up those expectations and potentially finally paying off her hard work.
Hauger’s Path To A Pro Contract
While Hauger is excited about being a Hemmer Motorsport, getting there was a long road. Her first showing in the Pro-Am Women’s division came in the 2017-2018 season when she ran her first season in the Pro-Women’s class. She would not end up on the podium, but she started to show some consistent finishes and earned a seventh-place finish in the points standings.
As she continued to gain confidence and experience racing at the top level, she put the whole sport on notice in the 2018-2019 season with a fourth-place finish in the championship standings. Hauger picked up her first career podium just three rounds into the season in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with a third-place finish. She would add three more podium finishes over the rest of the season, with third-place finishes in round six in Shakopee, Minnesota, round eight in Deadwood and round twelve in Salamanca, New York.
The 2019-2020 season proved rough for her, as she missed most of it due to injuries. The 2020-2021 season was much better, as she picked up her success from the 2018-2019 success. Hauger finished in third place in the standings. Hauger established herself as a podium favorite this season, earning 11 podiums throughout the year. Hauger closed the season very strong by finishing on the podium in the final seven straight races. She tallied eight third-place finishes on the season and three second-place finishes.
The 2021-2022 season continued to show an upward trajectory, as Hauger finished second in the point standings behind just Cottew. Hauger picked up on the podium streak in 2020-2021 and continued it into 2021-2022. She started the season off with six straight podium finishes. This stretch also included her first career win in round three in Dubuque, Iowa. Hauger picked up two more wins during the season. She won round nine in Salamanca, New York and round 11 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
The 2022-2023 season saw Hauger get an opportunity to join a race team other than her family team. Hauger joined Frattalone Racing as part of a pro-lite and pro-women trailer for Polaris. The first year on a pro team did not go well, as the team struggled with mechanical failures and snowmobile troubles. It was also the first season, she had a different mechanic on the snowmobile as well. Despite the issues, Hauger secured her third straight season of finishing in the top three in the points standings. She finished the season with 11 podiums on the year. While never finding herself on top of the box, she came away with two second-place finishes.
Consistent showings earned Hauger her current spot at Hemmer Motorsports. On December 13 and 14, she will look for her fifth career win as her 2024-2025 title chase begins in Ironwood, Michigan, as part of the Mt. Zion National. You can follow along with her journey with Hemmer Motorsports social media. You can also watch her race on FloRacing during the ISOC Snocross Series season. •